I’ve shared before how I like to try my hand at one or two new-to-me veggie-friendly meals each week to practice my skills in the kitchen and ultimately, stay true to a primarily vegetarian diet. And let me tell you, when the food tastes this good, the fact that this meal is feeding you plant-powered goodness is just an added bonus. My boyfriend said he felt he was eating a restaurant-quality meal!

As Ashley writes, the three components — the sweet potatoes, cauliflower rice and avocado mash — and their individual flavors might seem like they come together haphazardly, but in reality, their combination is hand-me-a-second-helping good. The cauliflower rice is spicy, the sweet potatoes are comforting and the creamy avocado mash brings those two things together seamlessly.

Cinnamon and paprika coated sweet potatoes prepared and ready to roast in the oven.

I also know I’m going to be remaking the cinnamon-paprika sweet potatoes and the spicy cauliflower rice many times again together and separately in other dishes. The “rice,” or grated cauliflower, was an especially excellent find because it was something I had never made before and is much more than a simple rice-substitute. I also couldn’t stop tasting the bowl of mixed rice vinegar, soy sauce, and Sriracha (three ingredients that the former-picky eater in me was nervous about) meant to flavor the cauliflower. As a separate note, I hand-grated the cauliflower this time round, but I’ll definitely be speeding up the process next time, as suggested, in a food processor.

Leftover spicy cauliflower rice packed and ready to me devoured the next day.